-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- In that never-ending search for `` the next big thing in tech , '' talk has turned to wearable gadgets , especially in the form of a smartwatch that syncs with your smartphone .

Just about every major tech company from Apple to Samsung to Google is reportedly working on its own take on the concept .

Assuming the reports are true -- and they 're far too numerous and consistent not to be -- a big wave of new smartwatches is coming soon .

But these wrist gadgets are nothing new . In fact , smartwatches have a long history of failure , especially in recent years as the modern smartphone market began its explosive growth . Too many companies tried too hard to make the dream of a Dick Tracy-style watch happen before we were ready for it .

There 's an extensive list of smartwatch blunders in recent years .

Microsoft created a software platform called SPOT that delivered news updates to watches via FM radio waves for $ 59 a year . Companies such as Swatch and Fossil signed on to make compatible devices , but SPOT bombed . Microsoft killed it in 2008 .

Then there were watches that doubled as smartphones . LG and Samsung gave that category a whirl late last decade , but the devices were way too expensive and not nearly as functional as a traditional smartphone .

And Sony , a company desperately trying to remain relevant in today 's mobile-centric world , still sells an Android-based smartwatch that it introduced last year , but reviews of the device are pretty bad .

So are Apple , Samsung and Google setting themselves up for failure ?

No way .

Look at it this way . Tablets were nothing new when Apple introduced the iPad in 2010 . Microsoft was even noodling around with making a bigger push in the space at the time until Apple came along and completely redefined the category .

In three short years , tablets have started eating into traditional PC sales as people prefer to buy a device that can do most of the things their laptop can at a fraction of the price .

It seems like the public is finally ready to accept smartwatches the way they accepted Apple 's iPad .

Last year , a company called Pebble caused a lot of hype when it raised a whopping $ 10.3 million on Kickstarter from 68,000 people . Pebble makes a smartwatch with a black-and-white screen similar to the E-Ink display on your Kindle . It can connect to your Android phone or iPhone via Bluetooth and display incoming text messages and other notifications . Plus it lets you control basic phone functions such as the music player .

With all the hype surrounding this tiny startup , it feels like the hokeyness of a wrist computer has all but evaporated in the public 's eye . The answer seems to be to make a device that is n't a replacement for your smartphone , but a clever companion , something that takes away the need to pull out your phone from your pocket or purse .

Instead , you 'll just glance at your wrist , as if you were simply checking the time , to see what 's going on in the world . Or , with Google 's much-anticipated Glass connected headset , you 'll glance up at a tiny screen above your eye .

According to an unscientific survey of users by mobile deals site BuyVia , the top five features respondents said they 'd like to see in a smartwatch were e-mail and texting , phone calls , GPS , Wi-Fi and weather updates -- the same features people now rely on in their smartphones .

We were n't ready for smartwatches before , but now that smartphones are so ingrained in our lives , Apple and others appear smart to give wearable tech another chance .

Copyright © 2011 Business Insider .

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Apple , Samsung , Google and others are reportedly working on a smartwatch

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Other companies have tried to make a Dick Tracy-style watch happen before we were ready

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Public finally seems ready to accept smartwatches the way they accepted the iPad